PL Thomas EdD

PL Thomas EdD

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

P. L. Thomas, Professor, Furman University. Teacher/Writer/Poet. Social media is not my classroom. Posts represent me only and no organization linktr.ee/plthomas Literacy (reading and composition) and education policy, comic book scholarship

1.8K followers 1.7K following6.2K posts

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We Teach English in Times of Perpetual Crisis: Selling a Story of Reading (and Literacy) [Webinar Companion Post] radicalscholarship.com/2024/11/23/w...

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Hegseth Needs More T—Poll Shows He’s No Male Role Model www.thebulwark.com/p/new-poll-b...

thebulwark.comHegseth Needs More T—Poll Shows He’s No Male Role ModelOur new survey explores masculinity, sports gambling, and whether Americans want their commentators running the country.

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

College Readiness Panic for a New Decade curmudgucation.substack.com/p/college-re...

curmudgucation.substack.comCollege Readiness Panic for a New DecadeHigh school graduates aren’t ready for college!

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

1959: "yet students enter college badly lacking in these fundamental skills" paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/1959-yet-s...

paulthomas701128.substack.com1959: "yet students enter college badly lacking in these fundamental skills"A story worthy of a Marvel Multiverse film: Balanced literacy went back in time and destroyed the reading skills of students in the 1950s!

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Sold a Story Part Deux: A Reader paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/sold-a-sto...

paulthomas701128.substack.comSold a Story Part Deux: A Reader“‘Structured Literacy’ will help us sell what we do so well.” Hal Malchow (2014), “Structured Literacy: A New Term to Unify Us and Sell What We Do”

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Misunderstanding John Dewey: On the Failure of Either/Or Thinking paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/misunderst...

paulthomas701128.substack.comMisunderstanding John Dewey: On the Failure of Either/Or Thinking“Nothing can be developed from nothing; nothing but the crude can be developed out of the crude.” John Dewey, The Child and the Curriculum

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Recommended: Emily St. John Mandel and “those incredible things we had” paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/recommende...

paulthomas701128.substack.comRecommended: Emily St. John Mandel and “those incredible things we had”“If you don’t have a witness, your past starts to feel fictional.” Emily St. John Mandel, Exit Party

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Scripted Curriculum (Direct Instruction): Research Contradicts the Story Being Sold paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/scripted-c...

paulthomas701128.substack.comScripted Curriculum (Direct Instruction): Research Contradicts the Story Being Sold“These four errors (lack of balance, straw man arguments, myopic lenses, and logical fallacies) might seem puzzling...: how could conscientious journalists fall prey to them?” Mauren Aukerman (2022)

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

On the Fidelity Problem—And Why Education Wars Are Not Debates paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/on-the-fid...

paulthomas701128.substack.comOn the Fidelity Problem—And Why Education Wars Are Not Debates“Concerns about reading education are not new, having gained momentum in the United States of America after the 1925 recommendations for systematic phonics instruction.” Nicholas and Bradbury (2026)

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

NEPC Talks Education: An Interview With the Mother of a Transgender Child and Professor Scott Skinner-Thompson About the Human Impact of Anti-Trans Ballot Initiatives nepc.colorado.edu/publication/...

nepc.colorado.eduNEPC Talks Education: An Interview With the Mother of a Transgender Child and Professor Scott Skinner-Thompson About the Human Impact of Anti-Trans Ballot InitiativesUniversity of Colorado Boulder Associate Professor and Co-Director of A Queer Endeavor Bethy Leonardi, along with PhD Candidate Zander Nowell, speak with a Colorado mother of a 12-year-old transgender...

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America’s Worst States for Education (2026 Edition) schoolfinance101.com/2026/10/26/a...

schoolfinance101.comAmerica’s Worst States for Education (2026 Edition)Only one state can really be the worst. Here I look at the bottom five: Nevada, Texas, North Carolina, Florida and Arizona — states that could do far better by their children and choose not to.

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Trans Student Athlete Rules On The Ballot curmudgucation.substack.com/p/trans-stud...

curmudgucation.substack.comTrans Student Athlete Rules On The BallotFrom Forbes.com

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Direct Instruction is the American Default pershmail.substack.com/p/direct-ins...

pershmail.substack.comDirect Instruction is the American DefaultBut not the version that researchers want.

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Project Follow Through: A study so old it makes me look young mathematizing4all.com/2026/10/25/p...

mathematizing4all.comProject Follow Through: A study so old it makes me look young“The design flaws alone [of Project Follow Through] have caused the study to be called a good example of a bad evaluation” (Kennedy, 1978, p. 11)” “So the ultimate defense of the evaluation [of Pro…

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What The Script Can’t Write covingtonedu.substack.com/p/what-the-s...

covingtonedu.substack.comWhat The Script Can’t WriteMaybe we could be a lot more efficient if tomorrow everyone stuck to the script, but whose favorite teacher wouldn’t be there, and how could we ever assess the impact of that absence?

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Sold a Story Part Deux: A Reader paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/sold-a-sto...

paulthomas701128.substack.comSold a Story Part Deux: A Reader“‘Structured Literacy’ will help us sell what we do so well.” Hal Malchow (2014), “Structured Literacy: A New Term to Unify Us and Sell What We Do”

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Misunderstanding John Dewey: On the Failure of Either/Or Thinking paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/misunderst...

paulthomas701128.substack.comMisunderstanding John Dewey: On the Failure of Either/Or Thinking“Nothing can be developed from nothing; nothing but the crude can be developed out of the crude.” John Dewey, The Child and the Curriculum

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Poem: i don’t remember (sometimes i forget to tell you things) paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/poem-i-don...

paulthomas701128.substack.comPoem: i don’t remember (sometimes i forget to tell you things)“We're in a different kind of thing now/All night, you're talkin' to God.” The National, “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness”

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Recommended: Emily St. John Mandel and “those incredible things we had” paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/recommende...

paulthomas701128.substack.comRecommended: Emily St. John Mandel and “those incredible things we had”“If you don’t have a witness, your past starts to feel fictional.” Emily St. John Mandel, Exit Party

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Scripted Curriculum (Direct Instruction): Research Contradicts the Story Being Sold paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/scripted-c...

paulthomas701128.substack.comScripted Curriculum (Direct Instruction): Research Contradicts the Story Being Sold“These four errors (lack of balance, straw man arguments, myopic lenses, and logical fallacies) might seem puzzling...: how could conscientious journalists fall prey to them?” Mauren Aukerman (2022)

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

On the Fidelity Problem—And Why Education Wars Are Not Debates paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/on-the-fid...

paulthomas701128.substack.comOn the Fidelity Problem—And Why Education Wars Are Not Debates“Concerns about reading education are not new, having gained momentum in the United States of America after the 1925 recommendations for systematic phonics instruction.” Nicholas and Bradbury (2026)

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

The Coddling Hypothesis was (Mostly) Wrong About Parenting grimoiremanor.substack.com/p/the-coddli...

grimoiremanor.substack.comThe Coddling Hypothesis was (Mostly) Wrong About ParentingBack in 2015, Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff wrote a viral essay for The Atlantic entitled “The Coddling of The American Mind”, later expanded into a popular book.

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

On the Fidelity Problem—And Why Education Wars Are Not Debates paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/on-the-fid...

paulthomas701128.substack.comOn the Fidelity Problem—And Why Education Wars Are Not Debates“Concerns about reading education are not new, having gained momentum in the United States of America after the 1925 recommendations for systematic phonics instruction.” Nicholas and Bradbury (2026)

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Sold a Story Part Deux: A Reader paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/sold-a-sto...

paulthomas701128.substack.comSold a Story Part Deux: A Reader“‘Structured Literacy’ will help us sell what we do so well.” Hal Malchow (2014), “Structured Literacy: A New Term to Unify Us and Sell What We Do”

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Misunderstanding John Dewey: On the Failure of Either/Or Thinking paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/misunderst...

paulthomas701128.substack.comMisunderstanding John Dewey: On the Failure of Either/Or Thinking“Nothing can be developed from nothing; nothing but the crude can be developed out of the crude.” John Dewey, The Child and the Curriculum

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Recommended: Emily St. John Mandel and “those incredible things we had” paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/recommende...

paulthomas701128.substack.comRecommended: Emily St. John Mandel and “those incredible things we had”“If you don’t have a witness, your past starts to feel fictional.” Emily St. John Mandel, Exit Party

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Recommended: Emily St. John Mandel and “those incredible things we had” paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/recommende...

paulthomas701128.substack.comRecommended: Emily St. John Mandel and “those incredible things we had”“If you don’t have a witness, your past starts to feel fictional.” Emily St. John Mandel, Exit Party

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Scripted Curriculum (Direct Instruction): Research Contradicts the Story Being Sold paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/scripted-c...

paulthomas701128.substack.comScripted Curriculum (Direct Instruction): Research Contradicts the Story Being Sold“These four errors (lack of balance, straw man arguments, myopic lenses, and logical fallacies) might seem puzzling...: how could conscientious journalists fall prey to them?” Mauren Aukerman (2022)

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

ICYMI: Pumpkin Cutting Edition (10/25) curmudgucation.substack.com/p/icymi-pump...

curmudgucation.substack.comICYMI: Pumpkin Cutting Edition (10/25)Better get on the stick-- it’s time to start chopping those big orange gourds into something scary or at least amusing because the clock is ticking on the sugariest of holidays.

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Fact Checking Sold A Story Season 2 - Robert Kaplinsky robertkaplinsky.com/fact-checkin...

robertkaplinsky.comFact Checking Sold A Story Season 2 - Robert KaplinskyI work in math education professional development, curriculum writing, and resource creation. The strategies I share would be considered inquiry based instruction. That being said, I believe that stud...

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Back-to-Basics (Again): Lorin Anderson and Essentialism to Understand Knowledge and Direct Instruction paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/back-to-ba...

paulthomas701128.substack.comBack-to-Basics (Again): Lorin Anderson and Essentialism to Understand Knowledge and Direct Instruction“Some teachers work in schools in which the culture supports change, while others work in schools in which maintaining the status quo is of paramount importance.” Lorin Anderson (2011)

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

My Illiterate Generation paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/my-illiter...

paulthomas701128.substack.comMy Illiterate Generation“The National Assessment of Educational Progress shows a group of 17-year-olds a replica of a traffic ticket, and more than half cannot determine the last day on which the fine can be paid.” NYT 1978

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Sold a Story Part Deux: A Reader paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/sold-a-sto...

paulthomas701128.substack.comSold a Story Part Deux: A Reader“‘Structured Literacy’ will help us sell what we do so well.” Hal Malchow (2014), “Structured Literacy: A New Term to Unify Us and Sell What We Do”

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Misunderstanding John Dewey: On the Failure of Either/Or Thinking paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/misunderst...

paulthomas701128.substack.comMisunderstanding John Dewey: On the Failure of Either/Or Thinking“Nothing can be developed from nothing; nothing but the crude can be developed out of the crude.” John Dewey, The Child and the Curriculum

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Recommended: Emily St. John Mandel and “those incredible things we had” paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/recommende...

paulthomas701128.substack.comRecommended: Emily St. John Mandel and “those incredible things we had”“If you don’t have a witness, your past starts to feel fictional.” Emily St. John Mandel, Exit Party

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Scripted Curriculum (Direct Instruction): Research Contradicts the Story Being Sold paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/scripted-c...

paulthomas701128.substack.comScripted Curriculum (Direct Instruction): Research Contradicts the Story Being Sold“These four errors (lack of balance, straw man arguments, myopic lenses, and logical fallacies) might seem puzzling...: how could conscientious journalists fall prey to them?” Mauren Aukerman (2022)

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

In Conversation: Reflections on Sold A Story Season 2 (Ep. 3) trevoraleo.substack.com/p/in-convers...

trevoraleo.substack.comIn Conversation: Reflections on Sold A Story Season 2 (Ep. 3)Reader Joel Solow commented on the previous post asking if we could put together a recommended reading list of commentary and research that would be useful for contextualizing the “DI-science of X-con...

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

FL: MSM Catches On To Donalds' Charter Grift curmudgucation.substack.com/p/fl-msm-cat...

curmudgucation.substack.comFL: MSM Catches On To Donalds' Charter GriftThe Miami Herald finally caught on. I guess it takes a big election to get them to pay attention.

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

1959: "yet students enter college badly lacking in these fundamental skills" paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/1959-yet-s...

paulthomas701128.substack.com1959: "yet students enter college badly lacking in these fundamental skills"A story worthy of a Marvel Multiverse film: Balanced literacy went back in time and destroyed the reading skills of students in the 1950s!

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

The Phonics Gambit: The Zombie Reading Policy that Fails but Won't Die paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/the-phonic...

paulthomas701128.substack.comThe Phonics Gambit: The Zombie Reading Policy that Fails but Won't Die"[K]ids with birthdays in the last two months of the year were 65% more likely to be labeled as having a learning disability than those born during the first two months." Jessica Gould (4 August 2026)

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

The Science of Anecdotes and Metaphors paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/the-scienc...

paulthomas701128.substack.comThe Science of Anecdotes and Metaphors"Zero Phonics. This view claims that direct teaching is not necessary or even helpful. I am unaware of any professional who holds this position." Stephen Krashen (2017)

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Women and Children Last: The Toxic Ideologies Driving "Science of" Education Reform paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/women-and-...

paulthomas701128.substack.comWomen and Children Last: The Toxic Ideologies Driving "Science of" Education Reform"[C]urrent SoR discourse...fails to center the full range of children's rights, leaving children vulnerable to instructional decision-making that undermines their rights." Aukerman et al. (2026)

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Where's the Science?: Not in Think Tank Reports or Reading Legislation paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/wheres-the...

paulthomas701128.substack.comWhere's the Science?: Not in Think Tank Reports or Reading LegislationYet (another) NCTQ report and the proposed READ Act in the US Senate expose the central problem with the "Science of Reading" Movement—the Absence of Science.

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

The Scarcity Loop: Why School Choice Doesn’t Fix Educational Inequality curmudgucation.substack.com/p/the-scarci...

curmudgucation.substack.comThe Scarcity Loop: Why School Choice Doesn’t Fix Educational InequalityFrom Forbes.com

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Back-to-Basics (Again): Lorin Anderson and Essentialism to Understand Knowledge and Direct Instruction paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/back-to-ba...

paulthomas701128.substack.comBack-to-Basics (Again): Lorin Anderson and Essentialism to Understand Knowledge and Direct Instruction“Some teachers work in schools in which the culture supports change, while others work in schools in which maintaining the status quo is of paramount importance.” Lorin Anderson (2011)

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Sold a Story Part Deux: A Reader paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/sold-a-sto...

paulthomas701128.substack.comSold a Story Part Deux: A Reader“‘Structured Literacy’ will help us sell what we do so well.” Hal Malchow (2014), “Structured Literacy: A New Term to Unify Us and Sell What We Do”

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Misunderstanding John Dewey: On the Failure of Either/Or Thinking paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/misunderst...

paulthomas701128.substack.comMisunderstanding John Dewey: On the Failure of Either/Or Thinking“Nothing can be developed from nothing; nothing but the crude can be developed out of the crude.” John Dewey, The Child and the Curriculum

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Recommended: Emily St. John Mandel and “those incredible things we had” paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/recommende...

paulthomas701128.substack.comRecommended: Emily St. John Mandel and “those incredible things we had”“If you don’t have a witness, your past starts to feel fictional.” Emily St. John Mandel, Exit Party

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Scripted Curriculum (Direct Instruction): Research Contradicts the Story Being Sold paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/scripted-c...

paulthomas701128.substack.comScripted Curriculum (Direct Instruction): Research Contradicts the Story Being Sold“These four errors (lack of balance, straw man arguments, myopic lenses, and logical fallacies) might seem puzzling...: how could conscientious journalists fall prey to them?” Mauren Aukerman (2022)

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Evidence and Implementation joshcowen.substack.com/p/evidence-a...

joshcowen.substack.comEvidence and ImplementationA new season of Sold a Story is raising longstanding questions about research and education policy

@plthomasedd.bsky.social

Scripted Curriculum (Direct Instruction): Research Contradicts the Story Being Sold paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/scripted-c...

paulthomas701128.substack.comScripted Curriculum (Direct Instruction): Research Contradicts the Story Being Sold“These four errors (lack of balance, straw man arguments, myopic lenses, and logical fallacies) might seem puzzling...: how could conscientious journalists fall prey to them?” Mauren Aukerman (2022)